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Conducting an observation study
The type of study
1)At the explanatory stage when we observe thoseobservations are
called simple observation
2)If observation is done other then explanatorystage it is
called systematic observation
3)Another type of observation is environmentalobservation in
which the researcher as a
participant or observer becomes a part of the
culture and describes in great details of everything
surrounding the event or activity of interest
4)Another type is observation checklist which isanalogous to a
questionnaire. this checklist should
possess a high degree of precision in defining
relevant behaviour or acts and have mutually
exclusive and exhaustive categories
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Observer training
There are guidelines for qualification and selection
of observer.
1)Concentration:- ability to function in a settingfull of
distraction
2)Detail-oriented:- ability to remember detail ofan
experience
3)Unobtrusive:- ability to blend with the settingand not be
distinctive
4)Experience level:- ability to extract the mostfrom an
observation study
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3)When- The time of the study is also important for
example in study of out-of-stock condition in a
supermarket ,the exact time of the observation
may be important. The likelihood of a given
product being out-of-stock is a function of both
time related activities.
4)How- The observation data helps in understanding
how it is used if there are many observers then
how the data is divided among them.
5)Where- The location of the observation is very much of
importance. Where you observe effects your
whole process. For example, a sales approachobservation within a
chain of retail stores can
significantly influence the acts recorded.
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Unobtrusive measures
- This approaches encourage creative andimaginative forms of
indirect observation,
archival searches and variations on simple and
contrived observation. Of the particular interest
are measure involving indirect observation
based on physical traces that includes erosion
and accretion.
- Natural erosion is the study of wear and tear ofany objest for
example from the wear and tear
of the book we can measure the use of the
library books.
- Physical traces also include natural accretionsuch as
discovering the listenership of radio
stations by observing car radio setting as autos
are brought in for service.
- Physical traces methods present a strongargument for the use
based on their ability to
provide low cost access to frequency,
attendances and incidence data without
contamination from other methods or reactivity
from participants.
